Julia Garner is preparing to portray Caroline Ellison in the new Netflix series The Altruists. The character is the business partner and romantic interest of Sam Bankman-Fried, a figure central to the multi-billion dollar fraud that caused the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Garner, who has built a reputation for deep character transformations, explains that her approach involves meticulous observation. She noted that she watches people closely, often focusing on their eyes to capture the essence of the person she is about to become. Garner admitted to covering half of a subject's face in photographs to concentrate solely on their gaze.
Garner grew up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, where she attended arts and crafts classes at the Wave Hill Cultural Center. Her artistic lineage is evident in her family, as her father teaches art and her mother worked as an actress before becoming a therapist. Garner described herself as extremely shy during her childhood and recalled taking her first acting class at the age of 14. She reflected that acting served as a protective mechanism for her, especially given the learning challenges and feelings of being an outcast she experienced as a child.
Her professional journey began with a film role in 2011, but her major breakthrough arrived in 2017 with the Netflix crime series Ozark. Her performance as Ruth Langmore, a sharp-witted character who manages a crime ring from a trailer park, earned her significant recognition, including a Golden Globe award and three Emmy Awards. Garner stated that the role taught her to overcome fear and that she is now frequently cast as complex or intense characters. She also received a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Anna Sorokin in the 2022 series Inventing Anna, a role that depicted a Russian-born con artist who posed as a German heiress in New York.
Despite her success, Garner found the constant public attention unsettling. She expressed discomfort with the feeling of always being watched, which eventually affected her mental state. During the 2023 actors strike, she sought a different perspective by enrolling in a clown school in France. Although she described her performance in the class as a failure, she found the experience to be the best feeling she had in a long time. It was during this time that she realized she carried a sense of shame about her own success, feeling unworthy of her achievements.
Her clown instructor helped her confront these feelings by pointing out that she was hiding and uncomfortable, urging her to open up. This experience taught Garner not to be afraid of failure. She acknowledged the irony of being called out on her eyes, given that she relies heavily on them for her acting, but noted that she had previously resisted having others see her true self. She continues to seek out this inner clown spirit, even though she holds a certificate from the French school.
One of Garner's most notable upcoming projects is a biopic about the singer Madonna, a film that is currently in development but has been shelved. Garner does not know if the movie will ultimately be produced, but she expressed gratitude for the relationship she built with the pop icon. The audition process required her to sing, dance, and act as Madonna, a challenge for someone who was not a trained dancer. Garner said she would love for the film to move forward but is content with whatever happens, citing the valuable lessons she learned about working from Madonna.
Regarding her current role in The Altruists, Garner stated that her goal is to surprise herself and avoid recognizing her own personality in the performance. Her primary concern while working is how she can move and affect audiences. She wants to make people feel less alone, a sentiment rooted in her own childhood experiences of watching movies that gave her a sense of hope. The series The Altruists will begin streaming on Netflix on November 19.
